203:, four of them died, starting with Minik's father Qisuk on February 17, 1898. Minik pleaded for a proper burial for his father, with the traditional rites which only the Inuk could provide. The curatorial staff wanted to preserve Qisuk's body for study, research that would be impossible if his remains were buried. They staged a fake burial for Minik's benefit: filling a coffin with stones for weight, and placing a stuffed "body" covered with a cloth on top. They performed the burial by lantern light, with Minik attending. The staff sent Qisuk's body to William Wallace's estate, chief curator and superintendent of buildings at the Natural Museum. There, he had a workshop for processing the skeletons of specimens. Qisuk's remains were de-fleshed, and the skeleton was eventually mounted on an
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young adult
Uisaakassak, the fiancé of Aviaq. Although Peary had invited the adults on the trip, it is unlikely they were clearly informed as to its purpose. Some agreed to travel to see new places; others did not want to be parted from relatives. Peary had promised that they would be able to return to Greenland. Soon after their arrival, the group became the objects of study, together with the
128:(TB), and one young man was returned to Greenland. After deceiving Minik with a staged burial, the museum put the skeleton of his father on exhibit. Minik was adopted by William Wallace, the museum's building superintendent, and did not return to Greenland until after 1910. He returned to the United States a few years later, where he remained and worked until dying of
332:. Convinced that the remains of Qisuk and the three adult Inuit should be returned to Greenland, he tried to persuade the Museum of Natural History to do this, as well as working through the "red tape" of the US and Canadian governments. In 1993, Harper succeeded in having the Inuit remains returned. In
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Minik tried to get Peary to return him to
Greenland, but was refused in 1907. Through contacts to a scientist, Minik was able to get a college scholarship despite having dropped out from school earlier, but his third bout of severe pneumonia, result of his earlier tuberculosis, made him abandon those
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theories. In
September 1897, Robert Peary brought instead six Inuit back to the museum: Aside from widower Qisuk and his son Minik, the arrivals included the shaman Atangana (ca. 1840–1898) with her husband, renowned hunter Nuktaq (ca. 1848–1898), their adoptive daughter Aviaq (ca. 1885–1898) and the
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In 1901, William
Wallace fell on hard times after the curator was fired from the Natural Museum of History over a case of financial irregularities and accusations of impropriety. He pleaded for the funds to raise Minik, but was refused and had to struggle on. Minik, by now about eleven years old, no
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The seven year old Minik, still impressed by the sights of
America, was not returned home but instead was adopted by the same William Wallace who had prepared his father for exposition. While no proper adoption certificates remain, Wallace still cared for Minik like for his own son Willy, who was of
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Soqqaq took him in and the Inuit taught him the adult skills he needed. Minik became a fine hunter, but also brought with him knowledge of life in
America. His stories were found to be wildly embellished, as Minik stylized himself as a former urban gangster. He was briefly and unhappily married. He
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which Peary had brought. Franz Boas and the museum staff, at most expecting a single person for interviews to be conducted during the winter, had not made plans for the care of the group, nor for their return. As a result, room was made in the museum's basement to house them. Similar to
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requested from Robert Peary to invite an Inuit person from
Northern Greenland to the American Museum of Natural History, where Boas was curator at that time. Boas had previously worked with other indigenous people from North America, interviewing them, and hoped to disprove
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longer had a carefree life growing up, but remained with
Wallace. About 1906, New York papers published a story that stated Qisuk's skeleton was displayed in the museum. Minik was shocked to learn of this through classmates' comments as the story circulated.
242:, admitted the deception a decade previously, but remained largely uninterested in the matter. Meanwhile, Bumpus refused to admit the museum had Qisuk's skeleton, or the remains of the other three Inuit. Minik was never able to reclaim his father's bones.
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plans. After suicide threats and an escape to Canada, Minik was sent to
Greenland on a supply ship for Peary. Although Peary's supporters told the press they had sent Minik back "laden with gifts", the Canadian author
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In March and April, two more Inuk died. Aviaq succumbed last, on May 24. Uisaakassak, her surviving fiancé, demanded a return to
Greenland upon her death, and was given passage on the
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304:. His employer, Afton Hall, invited him to live with the Hall family, who treated him much like a son. Along with many of Hall's family and workers, Minik died during the
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School and was reportedly a bright student. Sometimes, journalists still took interest in the boy, reporting on his cultural change from a bewildered “savage”.
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Inuit. His mother died from an epidemic shortly before 1897. His father met Robert Peary when the explorer employed men of their band during several
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Minik, son of the renowned hunter Qisuk (ca. 1858–1898) and his wife Mannik, spent his early childhood in northern Greenland among his people, the
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Wallace supported Minik in requesting that Qisuk's remains be returned to the son for traditional burial. The museum director,
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at the time, 20,000 people paid entrance to see the Inuit group there, who politely shook many visitor's hands.
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found documentation that the Inuit was returned to Greenland with little more than "the clothes on his back."
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After this return to the US, Minik worked at a variety of jobs; eventually he found work in a lumber camp in
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and returned to the museum for display. Wallace did not tell Minik about this nor of his own part in it.
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Minik: the New York Eskimo: an Arctic explorer, a museum, and the betrayal of the Inuit people [
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Peary's athletic protegé. Mene Peary Wallace, an Eskimo, picked to win skating honors.html
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in those years, which continues to impact Inuit communities to this day. Taken to the
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eventually acted as a guide and translator for visitors, playing a key role in the
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in January 1917, filled out in New York, Mene Peary Wallace described himself as
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489:, July 2001; p. 142–155. Article in German, based on research by Kenn Harper.
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white, dark complexion, black hair, brown eyes, no other distinctive features
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dedicated an episode to Minik Wallace entitled "400 Words for 79th Street".
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An episode of The Constant podcast dealing largely with Minik Wallace
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Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
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Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
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People associated with the American Museum of Natural History
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and skills; his life in Greenland was difficult. The elderly
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404:, New York: Washington Square Press, 2001; revised edition
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of 1913–1917. At that time, Minik decided to return to the
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By November 1, 1897, all Inuit had already contracted
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Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in New Hampshire
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349:recorded "If Ice Were Warm" on their 2008 album
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120:. The six Inuit were studied by staff of the
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108:) brought as a child in 1897 from
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692:"The Cold, Hard Truth, Pt 2"
564:"The Cold, Hard Truth, Pt 2"
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587:Harper, Kenn (2002-01-01).
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218:Adoption and adolescence
201:Bellevue Hospital Center
181:ethnological expositions
728:Crocker Land Expedition
433:The American Experience
356:The historical podcast
289:In his application for
275:Crocker Land Expedition
187:Death of the Inuk group
16:Inuit child (1890-1918)
281:, and did so in 1916.
381:Greenlandic Americans
164:In 1896, ethnologist
645:(10 December 2009).
605:2002PolGe..26...39H
479:Andreas Wenderoth:
246:Return to Greenland
240:Columbia University
236:Hermon Carey Bumpus
195:(TB), a widespread
176:Cape York meteorite
684:2013-03-09 at the
445:(Scholastic, 2005)
423:2016-12-27 at the
340:In popular culture
197:infectious disease
171:cultural evolution
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481:Miniks Sehnsucht.
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253:Kenn Harper
150:Greenlandic
140:Early years
98: 1890
71:Pittsburg,
48: 1890
702:Categories
661:2013-05-20
643:Nate DiMeo
573:2020-06-04
450:References
347:Piñataland
225:Mount Hope
166:Franz Boas
651:WordPress
629:140717778
621:1088-937X
568:WordPress
530:15 August
324:In 1986,
130:influenza
110:Greenland
682:Archived
421:Archived
367:See also
269:angakkuq
212:Windward
205:armature
146:Inughuit
102:Inughuaq
601:Bibcode
334:Qaanaaq
260:Inuktun
132:in the
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414:(2017)
386:Racism
377:(2010)
154:Arctic
625:S2CID
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87:Minik
57:Thule
617:ISSN
532:2019
483:In:
106:Inuk
91:Mene
65:Died
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609:doi
429:PBS
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